Israeli Knesset member’s virtual meeting zoombombed with antisemitic abuse

A member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is reported to have tried to hold a Zoom meeting about the relationship between Israel and Jews in the diaspora, only for him to become a target for references to Hitler and the Nazis.

Zoombombing is when people join a Zoom video call with the intention of derailing it. This usually involves spewing antisemitic, racist, or otherwise hateful rhetoric.

Alon Tal, a member of the Blue and White party, organised the open-access online event, entitled “How Israel can better represent Jews around the world?” for the evening of Sunday 20th March. 

Soon after the gathering began, however, several people joined in and began filling the screen with offensive language. They also wrote “Hitler was right” and plaudits for other Nazi leaders in Zoom’s chat function. Mr Tal was then forced to cancel the call, which has been rescheduled for the evening of Sunday 27th March.

Quoting the Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Mr Tal is reported to have said: “We will continue to strengthen our partnerships with our friends around the world. And most importantly, we will have no fear at all.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism has expanded our coverage of antisemitism worldwide. Please contact us if you would like to share feedback or volunteer to assist with this project.